Vending machine ejector



y 1966 J. SCHENDORF ETAL 3,262,603

VENDING MACHINE EJECTOR Filed Sept. 24, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 I NVENTORSJOHN SCHENDORF 8 IRVING GOLDBERT their ATTORNEY MW $2M y 1966 J.SCHENDORF ETAL 3,262,603

VENDING MACHINE EJECTOR Filed Sept. 24, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG 3 FIG.4

INVENTORS JOHN SCHENDORF 8 IRVING GOLDBERT wj wgz their ATTORNEY UnitedStates Patent 3,262,603 VENDING MACHINE EJECTOR John Schendorf,Metuchen, and Irving Goldbert, Mountainside, NJ. (231 North Ave.,Garwood, NJ.); said Schendorf assignor to said Goldbert Filed Sept. 24,1964, Ser. No. 398,871 1 Claim. (Cl. 221273) This invention relates tovending machine ejectors, and more particularly to devices of thischaracter for delivering from a vending machine the article released bya coin controlled mechanism.

Vending machines are being made and are already in use for vendingarticles such as cigarette packs, which are of a relatively short lengthof for example three inches. It has become desirable to adapt suchmachines to dis pense longer articles, such as packs of cigars, whichare of a length for example of six inches. It is also desirable to adaptsuch machines to dispense articles of intermediate length.

However, such machines are actuated by plungers having a relativelyshort stroke, and the coin control mechanism is fixed for operation bythe same short stroke.

For delivering longer articles from a short stroke plunger machine, thelonger articles have been stacked on the relatively short supportingrack in front of a delivery opening, so that the relatively short strokeplunger can push the longer pack off the rack to fall through thedelivery openings. However the stack of long packages resting on theshort rack was subject to toppling. Such toppling was prevented byweights applied to the top of the stack to descend as the packs wereremoved from the bottom. These weights were expensive, and timeconsuming in loading the machine.

It is therefore the main object of the present invention to providemechanism to be installed in a dispensing machine having a short strokedispensing plunger, and actuated by such plunger for pushing an articleto be delivered for a travel longer than said plunger stroke.

Another object is to provide mechanism for such short plunger strokemachines, whereby the same mechanism can be employed to deliver articlesof shorter, intermediate and longer lengths from respective stacksthereof.

In an endeavor to increase the capacity of the machines, the height ofthe supply bins has been increased. However, this increases the weightupon the lowermost article, and consequent friction thereon, renderingit diflicult to remove. It is therefore a further object of theinvention to take a component of the weight of the upper articles off ofthe lowermost article thereunder.

According to the present invention, the dispensing machine comprises apusher movable along a supporting rack below a supply bin and above ahousing for a short stroke dispensing plunger, which pusher is movablefor a travel longer than the plunger stroke, and mechanism connectingsaid pusher to said plunger for driving said pusher along said rack forsaid longer travel in response to said short stroke of said plunger.

Preferably the supply bin has an upper portion inclined with respect toits lower portion at a small angle, to take a part of the component ofthe weight of the upper articles oif of the lowermost article and avoidexcessive friction thereof.

Preferably the driving mechanism comprises a lever pivoted on theplunger having an upper arm in camming relation to the pusher, and alower arcuate arm extending rearwardly between bearing guides,preferably the lower of which is on top of the rear of the plungerhousing.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a plan of the bottom portion of a vending machine adaptedfor dispensing larger packages, ac-

cording to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical section taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1,showing the parts in rearmost position;

FIGURE 3 is a similar View, showing the parts in foremost position infull lines, and in the early part of the delivery stroke in dottedlines;

FIGURE 4 is a section taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 2; and

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged view of the delivery carriage.

The vending machine is preferably a rectangular box containing a row ofstorage bins. As shown in FIG. 1, the bins 8 are the shortest, the bins9 are of intermediate length and the central bin 10 is the longest. Thearticles stored in the bins are indicated by dot and dash lines.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the machine is operated by short strokeplungers 12 provided with coin controlled mechanism according to US.Patent 2,948,378, of which plunger fingers 13, 13a and rocker arm bars14 and 14a are shown. The plungers 12 slide in plunger guide 15 abovethe coin controlled mechanism.

The supply bins are provided with supporting racks 17 at the bottomsthereof, comprising inturned horizontal flanges on which the lowestarticles rest. As shown in FIG. 2, each supply bin has a verticalportion 19 delivering to the platform 17. For bins more than a certainheight, the bin also has an upper portion 21 delivering to the lowerportion 19 and inclined thereto for an angle of 15 to 20, the form shownbeing 16 /2. This takes a a component of the weight of the articles inthe inclined portion off of the articles therebelow to prevent excessivefriction on the lowermost article on the supply rack.

A transverse floor or support 18 extends across the machine below thebottoms of the racks, and is provided with slots 20 parallel to theplungers 12. These slots 20 serve as guides for slides 22 of generallyrectangular shape, as shown in FIG. 4. Each slide 22 has a flange 23depending through the slot 20 and extending laterally thereunder.

A pusher 24 is carried by each slide 22 and comprises a channel shapehaving side flanges fitting over the carriage 22 and pivoted thereto bya pin 25. The rear ends of the flanges are tapered as at 26 more thantheir forward ends which are therefore heavier to overbalance the pusher24, which rises above the flanges 17 and engages the package at thebottom of the rack, as shown in FIG. 3.

Pivoted on the same pivot 25 on each slide 22 is an empty lock havingone arm 28 shown in FIG. 5 registering with a slot 29 in the top of theslide 22 to engage the bottom of the article on the flanges 17. When therack is depleted, the arm 26 rises and the hook 30 at the other endthereof descends into a slot 32 in the partition 18, to prevent furtheroperation of the plunger.

As shown in FIG. 4, the slide 22 has a longitudinal flange 36 riding onthe slot 22 and depending therebelow. This flange carries a pin 38 whichas shown in FIG. 3, rides in a slot 40 extending longitudinally of theupper arm of a lever 42 pivoted on a pin 44 on the plunger 12. Thislever has an arcuate arm 46 extending rearwardly between bearing guides48 and 50. The guide 48 is a cross rod and the guide 50 is on top of therear of the plunger housing 15.

In operation, assuming that the proper coinage has been supplied toclear the coin controlled mechanism, and the parts are in the positionshown in FIG. 2, the customer pulls the plunger 12 out for the forwardstroke, which carries therewith the lever pivoted thereto. The arcuatearm 46 rides over the bearing guide 50, which cams the arm 46 upwardly,turning the arm 42 rapidly forwardly about the pivot 44, which is alsomoving with th plunger 12. The combined motion causes the slot 40 to camthe pin 38 forwardly, increasing the travel of the slide 20, andbringing the parts to the position shown in full lines in FIG. 3.

The customer then pushes the plunger inwardly for the rearward stroke,causing the bearing surface 48 to cam the arcuate upper surface of thearm 46 rapidly downwardly about the pivot 44. This causes the slot inarm 42 to cam the pin 38 and slide 22 rapidly rearwardly toward theplatform 17 to the position shown in dotted lines, at which time thepusher 24 engages the bottom package.

Further or continued push on the plunger 12 ejects the package, and thenext package descends onto the top of pusher 24 to swing it about pivot25 into horizontal position as shown in FIG. 5, and to slide under thepackage on the next forward stroke. At the same time, the packagedescends onto the empty lock arm 28, to pull the hook 30 out of the pathof the slot 32, to free the carriage for the next forward stroke.

What is claimed is:

An article dispensing machine having a short stroke dispensing plunger,a guide for said plunger, a storage bin for the articles positionedabove said guide having at the bottom thereof a supporting rack, asupport positioned between the rack and the guide, a pusher movablymounted on said support for a travel longer than said plunger stroke, alever pivoted on said plunger having an upper arm connected to saidpusher by'means of a pin and slot connection and a lower arcuate armextending rearwardly therefrom, upper and lower camming members, saidupper camming surface pushing said arcuate arm downwardly about itspivot as said plunger moves forward, said lower camming member forcamming said arcuate arm upwardly during the return stroke of theplunger.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 647,955 4/1900Fonsskov 221274 902,170 10/1908 Salzer 221274 1,003,167 9/1911 Wright221-274 1,292,619 1/1919 Lorenz 221270 2,634,185 4/1953 Wilder 221-2702,784,871 3/1957 Gabrielsen 22119 2,902,948 9/ 1959 Fowler et al. 221124ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner.

WALTER SOBIN, Examiner.

